DALLAS — WNBA star Caitlin Clark didn’t appear thrilled when former NBA star Reggie Miller declared her NBA comparability was Payton Pritchard on an NBC pregame broadcast final week. The clip of her seemingly dissatisfied response instantly blew up on the web, with followers claiming that she appeared offended when Miller in contrast her to the Celtics guard.
However, when requested concerning the second earlier this week, Pritchard shrugged it off.
“I don’t actually look into that type of stuff. I don’t actually obtained a remark,” Pritchard mentioned. “She’s an amazing participant, although.”
The truth is that being in comparison with Payton Pritchard is not any slight. Maybe Clark was anticipating to be in comparison with a extra embellished star, like Steph Curry or Luka Doncic. But it surely’s not Curry, nor Doncic, who’s the NBA’s best isolation participant.
That honor goes to the 6’1 Celtics guard.
Pritchard is the NBA’s best isolation participant, capturing 63.5% from the sector on 1.8 iso makes an attempt per sport, per NBA.com.
He wasn’t in the slightest degree shocked when he stumbled upon that effectivity statistic, which made its rounds on social media late final month.
“I really feel prefer it simply goes to the work, and it makes me consider that I’m on the suitable path,” Pritchard mentioned. “And, yearly, I get a bit of bit higher and higher. And, so long as that’s occurring. I don’t need to say that I’ve had drastic jumps year-to-year to go [like[ from 10 to 20 points, but if I’m chipping away, going [up] 3 factors, extra assists, I’m getting a bit of bit higher, then I’m on the suitable path. I really feel prefer it’s simply one other signal that I’m doing what I’m alleged to.”
And, for the reason that viral Caitlin Clark clip, the previous Sixth Man of the Yr has been particularly productive.
Within the final three video games, he’s averaging 25.7 factors on 52.7% capturing, whereas capturing 45.8% from three. Whereas he’s technically come off the bench for all three of these video games, is averaging extra minutes in that span (34.5) than he has this season (32.7).
Coming off the bench hasn’t impacted his strategy.
“The mindset don’t actually change,” he mentioned. “It’s simply come out and do what I do — hoop and assist the group win.”
Inside Payton Pritchard’s ridiculous isolation effectivity
For those who watch Pritchard play, one of the vital outstanding components of his offensive prowess is how a lot house he’s capable of create in opposition to gamers. He attributes that to 3 converging components of his sport.
“I feel it’s the flexibility to cease on a dime, [being] sturdy sufficient to bump them off, and the handles to have the ability to create that separation too,” he mentioned. “So it’s all three — setting them up with the deal with, a bit of nudge, and the flexibility to cease.”
On Tuesday evening, Pritchard got here off the bench for the primary time all season and dropped 26 factors on 12-20 FG, together with hitting 10 of 12 of his two-point makes an attempt.
Simply moments after checking into the sport, he drove previous Cooper Flagg for a reverse layup. His litany of photographs included a fadeaway over Caleb Martin, a floater over Ryan Nembhard, and a number of jumpers over Flagg.
No two photographs regarded the identical as a result of, relying on who was guarding him and at what angle, Pritchard pulled out a unique transfer.
“I’d nonetheless shoot it over Wemby — like I had a shot in opposition to Wemby, an isolation on prime, and I shot, like, an underhand floater,” Pritchard mentioned, recalling a transfer he made within the Celtics’ sport in opposition to the San Antonio Spurs final month.
In spite of everything, the Oregon star famously spends your entire offseason inviting completely different elite gamers from around the globe to protect him, in order that he can excellent the suitable counter in opposition to every sort of defender.
“I’m not likely fearful about who it’s,” he mentioned. “Now, [Wemby] would possibly change the trajectory of my shot. I’d shoot a unique shot. However that’s why, within the summertime, I’m taking part in in opposition to many various heights and several types of gamers, as a result of [if I’m going up against] anyone faster, or anyone stronger, or taller, you’re gonna should get to a unique spot, a unique sort of shot to get it off.”
In Friday’s 21-point comeback win in opposition to the Miami Warmth, Pritchard was notably instrumental. The Celtics guard struggled within the first half (5 factors on 1-6 FG), however went loopy within the second, exploding for 19 factors on 7-9 capturing.
Afterwards, Jaylen Brown credited him for turning the sport round.
“Payton has simply developed completely different features of his sport,” Brown mentioned. “Offensively, he’s all the time been capable of be a three-point menace. He established that, however now I really feel like he’s studying to make use of his physique, get to the midrange, get his shot off, and be efficient and environment friendly, which has helped take him one other step, discovering methods to get to the basket. He seems nice.”
From common DNPs to one of many NBA’s elite scorers
Houston Rockets coach Ime Udoka has lengthy recognized that Pritchard had this in him. He recalled having three completely different 1-on-1 conferences with Pritchard by means of the 2021-2022 season, through which Pritchard fell out of the rotation in favor of Dennis Schroder and Josh Richardson.
Udoka defined to the then-23-year-old that his time was coming, however remembers Pritchard’s eagerness to lace up: “He’s all the time who he’s been — assured, aggressive, but in addition itching to get that chance.”
So, nothing he’s seen since 2022 has shocked him — not the Sixth Man of the Yr award final Spring, nor his ascendance this season because the Celtics’ third-leading scorer.
“He’s all the time been who he’s,” Udoka mentioned. “It was alternative greater than something.”
The Celtics traded Schroder, Richardson, and Romeo Langford on the midseason commerce deadline in 2022, paving a pathway for Pritchard to get his much-desired, extra constant minutes.
“Ever since then, he’s taken off,” Udoka mentioned. “You knew he was going to be prepared for it.”
These days, the Celtics guard is the NBA’s assist-to-turnover ratio chief, amongst gamers who common no less than 3 assists per sport.
In 2026, he was the Celtics’ second-leading scorer in 2026, averaging 17.8 factors per sport. In that span, he’s capturing 49.1% from the sector and 42.1% from three, an early-season capturing stoop within the rearview mirror.
Typically, no matter what the protection throws at him, he nearly seems unguardable.
Friday evening in opposition to the Warmth was a kind of nights.
“I’ve a whole lot of instruments within the toolbox,” Pritchard mentioned, matter-of-factly. “So, I pull them out.”
